Washington state grape growers and wine makers are invited to provide input for direction of the Washington State Wine Commission’s statewide research program by attending the commission’s annual research review on Jan. 16 and 17 in Prosser, Washington.

The research review is a key component of the industry-driven Washington State Grape and Wine Research Program and gives researchers a forum to share results of ongoing projects and pitch new proposals to the Wine Research Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the Wine Commission.

Over the two-day event, researchers will present continuing and new proposals on nearly 30 topics, ranging from grapevine heat stress, irrigation management and mealybugs to Raman spectroscopy for wine analytics, using ozone for barrel sanitation and wine spoilage organisms.

Industry members who attend the research review will be asked to rank the proposals for industry importance. The advisory committee, which serves as the scientific review arm for Washington’s wine industry, will consider the rankings and make research grant funding recommendations to the commission’s board of directors.

The statewide research program currently provides more than $1 million in research grants through a blend of state, industry and private funding from the Washington State Wine Commission, Auction of Washington Wines, Washington State University’s Agriculture Research Center and state taxes collected from all wine sold in Washington.

The research review will be held at the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser. There is no charge for attending but preregistration is required. For more information, contact the Washington State Wine Commission Research Program Manager Melissa Hansen at mhansen@washingtonwine.org.

Jonelle Mejica joined the Good Fruit Grower staff in 2018 as a writer and copy editor for online and print stories. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and has more than 10 years of experience writing for the agriculture industry.
Connect with the author: Phone: (509) 853-3512 -- Email